South East Water's chief executive John Halsall and his teams will take questions at Trinity Theatre on Friday 20 November, 1.30pm to 6pm. Drop in any time.

South East Water’s chief executive, John Halsall, will be at Trinity Theatre on Friday 20 November to meet Tunbridge Wells residents and business owners who lost their water supply. The company is holding a public drop-in in the theatre foyer from 1.30pm to 6pm, and people can turn up at any point in that window. (South East Water)

The company says its leadership will be joined by specialists from three parts of the business: supply operations, network leakage and customer services. Visitors can ask questions, hear about the company’s investment in pipes and treatment works, and tell decision-makers directly what happened to them.

Why it is coming to Tunbridge Wells

The borough lost its water supply in December 2025 and January 2026, and the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum declared a Major Incident for Tunbridge Wells on 11 January. A borough council inquiry into the outages later reported “no confidence” that they would not happen again, and noted further outages in July 2026. We covered that report and the council’s response in South East Water: Council Report Says Outages May Recur.

Mr Halsall said:

“I want to meet residents and business owners who have been affected by supply interruptions so that I can hear about their experiences and help explain what we are doing to protect local supplies for the long term.

“Above all, we are here to listen, keep people informed, and take the measurable steps needed to earn back trust.”

What it means for you

  • When: Friday 20 November 2026, 1.30pm to 6pm. No set times: drop in whenever suits you.
  • Where: Trinity Theatre Foyer, Church Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1JP.
  • Who it is for: residents and business owners from Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding communities, especially anyone affected by a supply interruption.
  • What to bring: if you want to raise a specific outage, a note of the dates, how long you were without water and any reference number from the company will help the conversation.

South East Water is asking people to pass the details on to neighbours and friends who may want to go. The company supplies 2.4 million customers across parts of Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent, according to its release.

For details of the session, see the South East Water newsroom or the company’s website at southeastwater.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

When is the South East Water drop-in in Tunbridge Wells?

Friday 20 November 2026, from 1.30pm to 6pm, in the foyer of Trinity Theatre on Church Road, TN1 1JP. You can arrive at any point in that window.

Who will be there?

South East Water says its leadership, including chief executive John Halsall, and specialists in supply operations, network leakage and customer services will attend.

Who can go?

The company is inviting residents and business owners from Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding communities, and particularly wants to hear from people affected by supply interruptions.